What % of weight loss should be body fat?

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WillMarple
WillMarple Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
I've tried researching but can't find anything that says what an optimal % of weight loss should be body fat. I'm averaging about 60fat/40muscle&other.

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  • Javajunkie67
    Javajunkie67 Posts: 167 Member
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    Ideally it would be all fat. That isn't going to happen, but you can minimize the muscle loss by lifting weights.

    If you've never lifted, you can easily start with body weight exercises and move up when you're feeling stronger.
  • thoeting
    thoeting Posts: 89 Member
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    Out of my 75 pound weight loss, I've lost 77 pounds of fat, added 2 pounds of muscle.

    I push a lot of weight though, several times a week.

    YMMV
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    My bariatric Doctor says 3 to 1 is the most he wants his patients for muscle. 3lbs of fat to 1lb of muscle. But then he has his patients on low calorie (starvation mode...NOT). So he expects some muscle loss with that. Much better would be none but that is not always possible.
  • WillMarple
    WillMarple Posts: 12
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    I haven't really been trying to lose weight up until now I started tracking it on 5/15/12 and just stopped binge eating and cutting out almost all fried food especially no fast food. Now that the weight is really coming off I want to make sure I don't lose to much muscle. I got a body composition scan and came back with an LBM=228 and I just wanted to see how much weight lifting I need to add to my routine to keep my LBM>213 I figure with 150 pounds left to lose I don't want lose any more than 1 pound of LBM per 10 pounds of weight loss. Thanks for the input everyone.
  • WillMarple
    WillMarple Posts: 12
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    Out of my 75 pound weight loss, I've lost 77 pounds of fat, added 2 pounds of muscle.

    I push a lot of weight though, several times a week.

    YMMV

    Way to go.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    How tall are you? I will highly doubt you will keep your LBM over 200lbs when you get to your goal weight. Being bigger puts pressure on your internal organs, which actually causes them to swell. This will increase your LBM.

    Since I started my diet, my LBM has gone from 151lbs to 143 lbs, according to my body composition monitor. I've lost a total of 17 lbs, so a lot of it was lean mass. However, I've only changed my diet, so much of the weight was likely just garbage my body was flushing out of it's system. The numbers may change over time.

    My point is, is the numbers you are getting, both fat and LBM, will shrink dramatically together, until you get closer to your UGW (or UGBF%). I will highly doubt you will keep 200+ lbs of LBM, unless you are well over 6' tall. You probably won't have to "bulk up" your legs when you've lost the weight, because they should already be quite strong from supporting you, but LBM also includes all your internal organs, which will shrink quite a lot, as you lose weight.

    Just adding: My body composition monitor also tell me what % of my weight is actually "skeletal muscle," or the muscle that everyone talk about. It's at 30%, which would account for 67lbs of the 143lbs of LBM. That's only 47% of my total LBM. The rest are organs, bones, etc. So, of the 143 lbs of LBM I have, I will only be trying to maintain 67 lbs of it, or rather, I will be trying to make that percentage increase. the rest will gradually decrease as I lose more weight.

    I'm sure your situation will be similar.
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 558 Member
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    100% of the loss should be fat. And will be if your program is properly set and followed. Good luck. We're all here for support or motivation.
  • WillMarple
    WillMarple Posts: 12
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    I don't know I think I might be reading it wrong I've kept a log of my weight LBM and body fat%
    5/15 450lbs @ 49% body fat LBM 229.5 total change 0%
    6/28 411 lbs @ 44% body fat LBM 230 total change 8.67%
    7/26 391 lbs @ 41.3% body fat LBM 229.5 total change 13.11%

    I could look at this two ways can someone tell me which is correct
    I'm losing all fat because my LBM is not changing or
    I've lost 7.7% body fat and 5.41% other

    I'm kind of new at this whole aspect of it so if someone could enlighten me I would be grateful.
  • WillMarple
    WillMarple Posts: 12
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    Never mind I figured it out I've lost 100%fat
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    If your LBM is staying the same then you're losing only fat.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I don't know what it "should" be, but here is a typical breakdown, copied from my exercise physiology textbook. I don't know if this helps at all?:huh:

    percentweightloss.jpg

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